iMac lamp style start up error

macrumors newbie

It seems all my macs are having problems lately.
I have a ibook G4 which I can't seem to boot up without getting the folder with the mac face, no matter what keys I press on start up. I had read somewhere (probably a mistake to try this) that if you connect the iBook to a desktop iMac via firewire, you can install the OS DVD. So I put the iBook G4 disc into the desktop (perhaps I should have put in the Tiger OS X designed for desktops?) but I did not install. I ejected the disc when the computer didn't respond to it like it would the Tiger OS X DVD, before installing anything. I disconnected the firewire cable, and rebooted the iMac, only to find that it too had the screen with the folder and the mac face. I tried booting it with Command + Option + O + F since I couldn't boot it up with the OS DVD, but it's asking for a password which was never set. Is there any way around this? Or is this the wrong approach all together?

macrumors 604

For you iMac, I would boot with your OS X installer DVD. Is this an Intel iMac? If so, then just press and hold the option key as soon as you hear the chime. Your bootable volumes should appear, including the Installer DVD. Use the arrow keys to choose it. After choosing your language, select Utilities > Disk Utility from the menu bar and then do a disk repair.

For you iBook, do the same thing, except for PPC it's DOCS (delete-option-command-shift) after the chime to find bootable volumes.

thread startermacrumors newbie

For you iMac, I would boot with your OS X installer DVD. Is this an Intel iMac? If so, then just press and hold the option key as soon as you hear the chime. Your bootable volumes should appear, including the Installer DVD. Use the arrow keys to choose it. After choosing your language, select Utilities > Disk Utility from the menu bar and then do a disk repair.

For you iBook, do the same thing, except for PPC it's DOCS (delete-option-command-shift) after the chime to find bootable volumes.

Click to expand...

For the iMac, I've tried booting it up with the OS X installer DVD several times, but it doesn't respond. I can keep trying though.
And the iBook, I reopened it and realized the start up chime wire was somewhat hidden so I missed it last time. I did the combination of keys, but it made no difference on start up...

thread startermacrumors newbie

I got the iMac to boot with the disc. I guess I was holding Command instead of Option. But, there's a lock, with a box for a password. What password does it need? Because I've tried the only password I can come up with, which is the one I use to login with.

macrumors 6502a

I suppose the most obvious question is, is your iMac an Intel or PPC iMac? If it is the former and you are putting in a Tiger installer DVD, then there is no way this machine will boot up from a PPC installer disk. If you DO find a 10.4.8 installer disk (which I believe was was the first UB disk), you should be able to boot from that to the installer. The problem you will have there is, if you turn your iBook on, connected via firewire while pressing T - it will show up and should be usable as an external hard drive to install to. The problem you will then find is you're trying to install an Intel version of the OS onto a PPC Mac which of course will render the machine unbootable.

If your iMac is indeed a PPC Mac and it won't boot off the DVD, try making a disk image of the installer DVD, then using Disk Image to restore it to an external hard drive, plug this into your iBook and try pressing the option key when you turn on the iBook and see if you can select the external hard drive. If you can, it should act as a regular Mac OS X installer DVD, but the install will be a lot quicker due to the fact hard disks than optical media anyway

macrumors 604

If you don't know the password, you're pretty much screwed. You could install on an external drive, set up a new account, then use Migration Assistant to move your internal drive to the external drive - provided it doesn't ask you for a password. You could also try booting up in Target Disk Mode to retrieve files off the protected computer.

MacRumors attracts a broad audience
of both consumers and professionals interested in
the latest technologies and products. We also boast an active community focused on
purchasing decisions and technical aspects of the iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Mac platforms.